You know, he was just a good ol' boy, never meanin' no harm....posted by aaron at 5:01 PM on February 13, 2002

Lived quite a life. Allegedly told Buddy Holly that he hoped his plane would crash after he "lost" the coin flip for the last seat in the infamous little plane that killed the Big Bopper, Richie Valens, and Holly.

Definately a pioneer, and a huge influence in both types of music: country, and western.posted by tsarfan at 5:01 PM on February 13, 2002

A sad loss. Unfortunately, Waylon's website is still just touting his latest cd, "Never Say Die LIVE". posted by liam at 5:03 PM on February 13, 2002

Damn. Waylon was one of those(along with Willie Nelson, Gary Stewart and David Allan Coe) who took country out of the ballroom and dragged it back to it's roots.
Call me corny, but his version "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" always got me harmonizing. I'll also never forget the time me and a West Indian buddy drunkenly harmonized along with the jukebox to it. Inside every male is a country singer waiting to get out, IMHO.

Godspeed, Waylon and thanx for the tunes.posted by jonmc at 5:08 PM on February 13, 2002

I'm playing my Waylon and Willie album right now, and Waylon is partying with Buddy Holly; man, that 43 years flew by.posted by Mack Twain at 5:13 PM on February 13, 2002

I don't think the coin flip thing is true. The Big Bopper had a cold and so he wanted to fly, not take a bus. So Waylon gave up his seat and ended up preserving his life. On such seemingly minor decisions the world turns.posted by GaelFC at 5:55 PM on February 13, 2002

No more looking back, Texas, eh Waylon?
You were one o' the greats.
We got you in England.posted by dash_slot- at 6:13 PM on February 13, 2002

actually, that would be Luchenbach, Texas....
(with Waylon and Willie and the boys, et al.)posted by grabbingsand at 6:16 PM on February 13, 2002

That's a damn shame. The world has lost a talented man.posted by SuzySmith at 6:17 PM on February 13, 2002

What to say? A great lost to good music.posted by bjgeiger at 6:46 PM on February 13, 2002

Just goes to show, when its your time, its your time ... IT seems like Johnny, Willie, Merle, they all put their bodies through a hell of a lot more (comparetively) than Waylon, yet he's the first to go ...

I think that we should off Shania, Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, and a few others, as a kind of honor guard. On his way up to hang with Hank and Patsy, he can watch them freefall into country music hell, where there are no slick producers, hack songwriters or nashville label execs to save them ...posted by hipstertrash at 7:05 PM on February 13, 2002

Very sad... and makes me nostalgic for my childhood. My father took my brother and I to see Waylon and Willie when we were kids. It was the first concert I ever saw.

Probably one of the saddest things will be that country stations will play his music tonight and tomorrow, and talk about how big a loss this is for country music. The same country stations that have refused to new play music by Waylon, Willie, Johnny Cash, etc... for years now.posted by auzten at 7:16 PM on February 13, 2002

An old Best Of Waylon Jennings LP was the first record I was ever infatuated with. I took it to Preschool for show and tell. Nobody was impressed, but man, I loved it.

Never really got into the modern incarnation of country music, but (like many of you, it seems) the Great Ones like Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings really influenced my tastes in everything later on.posted by Hildago at 8:51 PM on February 13, 2002

Every time I drive through Texas on I-84, I manage to pass through Weatherford, Texas, "The birthplace of Waylon Jennings". It's on the city limits signs coming and going. Saw him many times with Wille and by his self in Austin. That voice ain't like no other.posted by jabo at 9:14 PM on February 13, 2002

actually its Luckenbach, Texas. been there a few times. its a great place to go hang on the weekends on the motorcycle.posted by jbelshaw at 10:33 PM on February 13, 2002

Ah well. If it wasn't for The Dukes of Hazzard, I'd have never heard of him.posted by salmacis at 12:53 AM on February 14, 2002

Waylon was born in Littlefeild, Texas.posted by bjgeiger at 5:08 AM on February 14, 2002

er, I know.. looking back/Luckenbach..? well, never mind, it's a sad loss anyway.posted by dash_slot- at 5:16 AM on February 14, 2002

I'm listening to "Love of the Common People" right now. What a tremendous talent.posted by maurice at 5:46 AM on February 14, 2002

My parents got engaged at a Waylon Jennings show in Minnesota. How romantic, being wooed to outlaw country.

Nothing to add to this thread except to echo: one of the all-time greats and yes, as I understand it, Waylon let Buddy have his seat on the plane because Holly was really sick (he should have cancelled the tour, but was too much the trouper). But it's a shame so many people will remember Waylon mainly for his Dukes of Hazzard voiceovers and theme song. (Someday, Eddie Money may be best remembered for the "Quack Pack" cartoon theme.)
"Ladies love outlaws," Rocketman.posted by StOne at 8:39 AM on February 14, 2002

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